Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-26
HORSE EMANSHIP.
TurcOman, Eng iisla ana
American styles of Riding.

American styles of Riding.
From the n. Y. Evening Post.
Saddles are almost as various in
form and structure as the races of men
who use horses, and so are the styles
of riding, and the man who dogma
ties about his own saddle and style 8
runs the risk of being brought to
shame. Nothing, for instance, can
differ more from a cowboys seat and
saddle than Cossack's or Turco-
mans. The cowboy sits straight-leg-
ged on his fork, in what is called
"tongs on wall" fashion, in a high
peaked saddle, with his toes stuck out.
The Cossack or Turcoman sits as fiat
as if he were in a chair, his leg form
ing right angle at the knee and his
feet exactly parallel with the horses
side. All three are superb riders,
whether it be for sticking on, or get
ting over rough ground, or making
long marches, or fighting, or running
away. If you argued with a Turcoman
that he ought OF to sit in a fiat saddle
with such short stirrups, but get
Whitman and stick his leg out, like
Capt. Goldman, he would not laugh.
because that is not his style, but he
would inwardly set you down as an
idiot, besides being an infidel.
There is also much nonsense talked
about the propriety or improperly of
rising or "bobbing up and down" in
the saddle during the trot when MAX
ing journey, and occasionally a
"True American" writes to the news
papers some sad drivel on the subject
as protest against the Anglomaniac
dudes who bob up and down on
banged horses in the park. On the
subject Captain Goldman, too, seems
to have been led astray. If you use
an English saddle, it is simply cruelty
to the horse not to rise in trotting on a
long ride, especially in the case
of heavy weight. In an Eng
lish saddle the rider sits well
behind his stirrups, which are rather
short, a fashion approachin. closely
to the Asiatic seat, and if he tries to
sit close during the trot he strikes a
horse catapultic blow at every stride
in the tenderest portion of the ami
mails back. When he rises on the
contrary, he descends gently, and he
keeps his weight steady on the horse
by throwing it into his stirrups when
his hinder parts are in the air.
The principle of the thing is in fact il
lustrated by the Jockeys practice of
standing in his stirrups during race
and the Cos'Ss or Arabs during a
charge. 4 what Is sought
is to avoid pounu..-, e horse with a
15O-pound mallet when the poor ami
NAL is trying to move in a regular trot
or gallop.
In a military, Or Mexican, or Whit
man saddle the circumstances are
wholly different. The rider almost
stands straight-legged in his stirrups
when the horse is trotting and keeps
his weight on them, and at the same
time accommodates himself to the
horses motion by an up-and-down
spring OF the foot. In other words,
he has no occasion to rise, and does
not come down ON the horses with a
bang. There is probably nothing
about which wide observation is more
necessary to make people talk sensi-
bly, than about horsemanship. Every
nation which rides in the saddle has
its own system, and for that nation its
own brides, saddles, bits and seats
are the best in the world. The man
who sets about disputing this runs
great risk, as we have said, OF being
brought to shame.